Aquarium siphon

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for siphoning foreign material from the top surface of the water within an aquarium tank. A liquid receptacle is suspendedly mounted externally to the aquarium tank having filtering means for cleaning the water taken from the top portion of the tank. The receptacle has an outlet connected to a pump which returns the cleaned water to the tank. The water from the top portion of the tank is siphoned into the receptacle by means of an inner tube which extends freely into a floating outer tube having a plurality of slots which extend through the surface of the water within the tank. Foreign material from the top surface of the water within the tank enters the slots and then into the inner tube and eventually into the receptacle. The outer tube includes a pair of floats for insuring that the outer tube remains in a vertical position. The bottom end of the outer tube is sealed and closed for supporting ballast. As the elevation of the top surface of the water within the aquarium tank changes, the elevation of the outer tube will also change with the inner tube remaining stationary.

United States Patent 1 1 Harding Jan. 15, 1974 AQUARIUM SIPHON topsurface of the water within an aquarium tank A [76] Invemor: William RHarding, 6144 St liquid receptacle is suspendedly mounted externally toJoseph St Indianapolis ind. 46219 the aquanum tank having filtermg meansfor cleaning the water taken from the top portion of the tank. The

[22] Filed: J1m W72 receptacle has an outlet connected to a pump whichreturns the cleaned water to the tank. The water from [21] Appl' 259,718the top portion of the tank is siphoned into the receptacle by means ofan inner tube which extends freely -S- Cl 119/5 into a floating outertube having a plurality of slots [51] Int. Cl... E04]! 3/20 which extendthrough the surface of the water within [58] Field of Search 119/5;210/169 the tank, Foreign material from the top surface of the waterwithin the tank enters the slots and then into the [56] References Citedinner tube and eventually into the receptacle. The UNITED STATES PATENTSouter tube includes a pair of floats for insuring that 3,135,238 6/1964Eyl 119 5 the outer tube remains in a vertical Position The 3,261,4717/1966 Halpertn 210/169 tom end of the outer tube is sealed and closedfor sup- 2,980,256 4/1961 Nash 210/1 9 porting ballast. As the elevationof the top surface of 2,989,185 6/1961 Lombardi 210/169 the water withinthe aquarium tank changes, the ele- 3,304,912 2/1967 Hackman et a1 119/5vation of the outer tube will also change with the inner PrimaryExaminer-Charles N. Hart Attorney-Harold R. Woodard tube remainingstationary.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 1 51974 lll/f/fl/l/ FIG. 2

1 AQUARIUM SIPIIION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention is in the field of devices for cleaning a bodyof liquid such as found in an aquarium tank.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is known to remove water from anaquarium, to then clear the water and then return the water to theaquarium; Some of the prior art devices for removing the water from anaquarium are disclosed in the following U. S. Pat.

No. 2,737,490 issued to Robert A. Lambertson;

No. 3,321,082 issued to Allan H. Willinger; and,

No. 3,485,373 issued to Edgar A. Powers. Typically, the prior artdevices remove the water from the bottom of the aquarium since generallythe sediment settles to the bottom. Some foreign matter, however,remains on the top surface of the water within the aquarium and may forma scum. The apparatus disclosed herein is particularly useful inremoving foreign material from the top surface of the water within theaquarium. Likewise, it may be used for removing foreign material fromany body of liquid such as water within a swimming pool. The apparatusis provided with a floatable tube which allows the apparatus to functionregardless of the change in elevation of the top surface of the liquid.

SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION One embodiment of the present invention is anapparatus for cleaning the top surface of a body of liquid within acontainer comprising an outer tube in the container having a top end anda sealed bottom end, the tube having a plurality of slots extending fromexternally of the liquid at the top end to beneath the top surfacetowards the bottom end, a liquid receptacle suspendedly mountedexternally to the container having filtering means mounted therein, thereceptacle having an outlet tube beneath the filtering means, an innertube extending through the top end and into the outer tube, the innertube having an inlet end positioned below the top surface for receivingforeign matter flowing from the top surface through the slots and intothe inner tube, the inner tube extending into the receptacle and havingan outlet end positioned lower in elevation than the top surface andabove the filtering means, and pumping means connected to the outlettube being operable to pump liquid cleaned bythe filtering means in thereceptacle back into the container.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus forcleaning the top surface of a body of liquid.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved apparatus for cleaning the water within an aquarium.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatusfor cleaning the top surface of the water within an aquarium.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentin the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a fragmentary cross sectionalview of an aquarium having the cleaning apparatus incorporating thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promoting anunderstanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now bemade to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific languagewill be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understoodthat no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended,such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device,and such further applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to oneskilled in the art to which the invention relates. 7

Referring now more particularly to FIG. I, there is illustrated anapparatus 10 for cleaning the top surface of a body of liquid withincontainer 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, container 12 is anaquarium tank for holding water. Apparatus 10 includes a liquidreceptacle 11 which is suspendedly mountable externally to container 12.Receptacle 11 is provided with a hook 21 integrally mounted theretowhich extends over the side wall of container 12. The receptacleincludes a filter 22 which may be produced from a material such asglass, wool, carbon, or other similar material. A pair of flanges areprovided on the inner surface of the walls of receptacle 11 so as tosupport filter 22 and to facilitate the easy removal of the filter fromthe receptacle. Receptacle 11 is provided with an outlet tube 23 whichis positioned beneath filter 22 and connected to pump 24 which forcesthe liquid from receptacle ll via tube 25 back into container 12 afterthe liquid has been cleaned.

A hook shaped tube 13 having an outlet 26 and an inlet 27 extends out ofthe water in container 12 over the side wall of the container and intoreceptacle ill. The outlet end 26 of tube 13 is positioned at a higherelevation than the inlet end 27. Inner tube 13 extends freely into anouter tube 14 which has a plurality of slots 15 extending fromexternally of the water within container 12 at the top end of tube 114to beneath the top surface of the water within container 12 and towardsthe bottom end of tube 14-. As shown in FIG. 3, the inside diameter oftube 14 is larger than the outside diameter of tube 13 allowing theinner tube to re main stationary as the outer tube floats and movesvertically as the top surface of the water within container 12 movesvertically. Tube 1'4 includes a pair of gas sealed enclosures l7 and 18mounted thereto which allows tube 14 to float and remain verticallyerect.

The bottom end 16 of tube 14 is closed for holding ballast 20 withintube 14. A sufficient amount of ballast 20 may be inserted through thetop end of tube 14 in order that the tube is appropriately balanced in avertical position with the top end of tube 14 projecting externally ofthe water within container 12. As shown in FIG. 5, both the outer tubeand inner tube are cylindrical with the outer cylindrical surface of theinner tube being spaced from the inner cylindrical surface of the outertube 114. Thus, foreign material from the top surface of the waterwithin container l2 may enter through slots as shown by the arrows inH6. 2 and then enter the bottom end 27 of tube 13 eventually emptyinginto receptacle 1 l. The water within receptacle 11 then passes throughfilter 22 with the foreign matter being cleaned from the water. Theclean water exits receptacle 11 via tube 23 and is pumped back intocontainer 12.

it will be noted that tube 13 has a bottom end 27 positioned below thetop surface of the water within container 12 so as to receive theforeign matter flowing from the top surface through slots 15 and intotube 13. Many variations are contemplated and included in the inventiondisclosed herein. For example, in one embodiment, the tubes andreceptacles were produced from a material such as plastic; however,other materials may also be utilized. Pump 24 is a conventionalelectrical liquid pump such as is typically found with an aquarium. Asshown in FIG. 3, the pair of sealed gas enclosures l7 and 18 are mountedexternally to tube 14 by means 19 such as welds or adhesives. Whenutilizing the subject invention for cleaning water within an aquarium,the slots 15 must not be sufficiently large so as to allow the passageof fish. On the other hand, the slots must be sufficiently large so asto provide for the velocity of water through the slots to besufficiently great to carry the foreign matter through the slots andinto the inner tube.

In an alternate embodiment, the outer tube was not provided withfloatation means but instead was secured at its top and bottom ends tothe inner tube by means such as O-rings. The operation of the alternateembodiment for cleaning the foreign matter from the top surface of thewater within the aquarium was the same. It can be appreciated that theinvention disclosed herein may be utilized for other purposes, such as,cleaning foreign matter from the top surface of a swimming pool. inorder to start the cleaning process of the device disclosed herein, asucking pressure should be applied to the outlet end of the inner tubethereby siphoning the water from the aquarium and into the receptacle.The flow of water will continue as long as the water level within thereceptacle does not exceed the water level in the container. Thus, thepump must be sufficiently large so as to provide for the rapid removalof the water from the receptacle and back into the container.

While the invention has been. illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that allchanges and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventionare desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cleaning the top surface of a body of liquid withina container comprising:

an outer tube in said container having a top end and a sealed bottomend, said tube having a plurality of slots extending from externally ofsaid liquid at said top end to beneath said top surface towards saidbottom end; recirculation means for returning liquid to said container;and

an inner tube extending through said top end and into said outer tube,said inner tube having an inlet end positioned below said top surfacefor receiving foreign matter flowing from said top surface through saidslots and into said inner tube, said inner tube having an outlet endpositioned lower in elevation than said top surface and positioned tocouple said liquid to said recirculation means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising:

floatation means mounted on said outer tube being operable to float saidouter tube in said liquid in a vertically erect position; and wherein:

said outer tube has an inside diameter larger than the outside diameterof said inner tube allowing said inner tube to remain stationary as saidouter tube floats and moves vertically as said top surface movesvertically.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said recirculation means comprises:

a receptacle positioned lower in elevation than said top surface forreceiving liquid from the outlet end of said inner tube;

filter means within said receptacle for filtering the liquid receivedfrom said inner tube; and

pumping means coupled to said receptacle for removing the filteredliquid from said receptacle and returning said filtered liquid to saidcontainer.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 and further comprising:

floatation means mounted on said outer tube being operable to float saidouter tube in said liquid in a vertically erect position; and wherein:

said outer tube has an inside diameter larger than the outside diameterof said inner tube allowing said inner tube to remain stationary as saidouter tube floats and moves vertically as said top surface movesvertically.

S. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein:

said bottom end of said outer tube is closed for holding ballast withinsaid outer tube.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein:

said floatation means includes a pair of scaled enclosures mountedexternally to said outer tube.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein:

said outer tube and said inner tube are both cylindrical with the outercylindrical surface of said inner tube being spaced from the innercylindrical surface of said outer tube.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein:

said inner tube is hook-shaped with said outlet end of said inner tubebeing positioned at a higher elevation than said inlet end of said innertube.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein:

said receptacle has a hook attached thereto which extends over the sidewall of said container.

1. An apparatus for cleaning the top surface of a body of liquid withina container comprising: an outer tube in said container having a top endand a sealed bottom end, said tube having a plurality of slots extendingfrom externally of said liquid at said top end to beneath said topsurface towards said bottom end; recirculation means for returningliquid to said container; and an inner tube extending through said topend and into said outer tube, said inner tube having an inlet endpositioned below said top surface for receiving foreign matter flowingfrom said top surface through said slots and into said inner tube, saidinner tube having an outlet end positioned lower in elevation than saidtop surface and positioned to couple said liquid to said recirculationmeans.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising: floatationmeans mounted on said outer tube being operable to float said outer tubein said liquid in a vertically erect position; and wherein: said outertube has an inside diameter larger than the outside diameter of saidinner tube allowing said inner tube to remain stationary as said outertube fLoats and moves vertically as said top surface moves vertically.3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said recirculation means comprises:a receptacle positioned lower in elevation than said top surface forreceiving liquid from the outlet end of said inner tube; filter meanswithin said receptacle for filtering the liquid received from said innertube; and pumping means coupled to said receptacle for removing thefiltered liquid from said receptacle and returning said filtered liquidto said container.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 and further comprising:floatation means mounted on said outer tube being operable to float saidouter tube in said liquid in a vertically erect position; and wherein:said outer tube has an inside diameter larger than the outside diameterof said inner tube allowing said inner tube to remain stationary as saidouter tube floats and moves vertically as said top surface movesvertically.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein: said bottom end of saidouter tube is closed for holding ballast within said outer tube.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5 wherein: said floatation means includes a pair ofsealed enclosures mounted externally to said outer tube.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6 wherein: said outer tube and said inner tube areboth cylindrical with the outer cylindrical surface of said inner tubebeing spaced from the inner cylindrical surface of said outer tube. 8.The apparatus of claim 7 wherein: said inner tube is hook-shaped withsaid outlet end of said inner tube being positioned at a higherelevation than said inlet end of said inner tube.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 8 wherein: said receptacle has a hook attached thereto whichextends over the side wall of said container.